Why did the Bears punt from the Eagles’ 30?

Three takeaways from the Bears’ 25-20 loss to the Eagles on Sunday at Soldier Field:

Punt?

With about three minutes to play in the first half, the Bears punted from the Eagles’ 30.

Yeah, you read that right.

During pregame warmups, kicker Cairo Santos determined that he couldn’t consistently kick field goals from further out than the 28 because, he said, of “how cold and windy it was.” The Bears faced fourth-and-26 after a Justin Fields fumble and a sack, so they couldn’t go for it, either. Trenton Gill punted 21 yards, to the Eagles’ 9.

Heading in the same direction in the fourth quarter, the Eagles went for it on fourth-and-three from the 34. They converted.

Six sacks

The Bears gave up six sacks — two each to Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick and Javon Hargrave — and lost a whopping 61 yards in the process. The Eagles relied on stunts, having their defensive linemen shoot through different gaps to confuse the Bears’ blockers.

“We gave up too many sacks,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “A lot of time that’s getting ready for the ball, handling the stunts as the offensive line versus that defensive line. They do it well. They’re aggressive. They’re violent. They have talent, a lot of talent up there.”

Former first-round pick Alex Leatherwood didn’t start, but rotated with Riley Reiff at right tackle. He struggled at times but recovered Fields’ fumble in the second quarter.

Go onside?

Trailing by five with 2:53 to play, the Bears decided to onside kick rather than try to boot the ball deep and force a three-and-out. The Bears’ analytics declared that to be the right call — they had only one timeout left — and Eberflus felt good about Santos’ spinning onside kick. Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith recovered it without incident.

Read More